Chapter IX.

Particular directions in relation to the foregoing case proposed
— First. Consider the
dangerous symptoms of any lust — 1. Inveterateness — 2. Peace obtained
under it; the several ways whereby that is done — 3. Frequency of success
in its seductions — 4. The soul’s fighting against it with arguments only
taken from the event — 5. Its being attended with judiciary hardness — 6.
Its withstanding particular dealings from God — The state of persons in
whom these things are found.

III. The
foregoing general rules being supposed, particular directions
to the soul for its guidance under the sense of a disquieting lust or
distemper, being the main thing I aim at, come next to be proposed. Now, of
these some are previous and preparatory, and in some of them the work
itself is contained. Of the first sort are these ensuing:—

First.
Consider what dangerous symptoms thy lust hath attending or
accompanying it, — whether it hath any deadly mark on it or no; if it hath,
extraordinary remedies are to be used; an ordinary course of
mortification will not do it.

You will say, “What are these dangerous marks and
symptoms, the desperate attendancies of an indwelling lust,
that you intend?” Some of them I shall name:—

1. Inveterateness. — If it hath lain long corrupting
in thy heart, if thou hast suffered it to abide in power and prevalency,
without attempting vigorously the killing of it, and the healing of the
wounds 44thou hast received by it, for some long season, thy
distemper is dangerous. Hast thou permitted worldliness, ambition,
greediness of study, to eat up other duties, the duties wherein thou
oughtest to hold constant communion with God, for some long season? or
uncleanness to defile thy heart with vain, and foolish, and wicked
imaginations for many days? Thy lust hath a dangerous symptom. So was the
case with David: Ps. xxxviii. 5, “My wounds stink and are
corrupt because of my foolishness.” When a lust hath lain long in the
heart, corrupting, festering, cankering, it brings the soul to a woful
condition. In such a case an ordinary course of humiliation will not do the
work: whatever it be, it will by this means insinuate itself more or less
into all the faculties of the soul, and habituate the affections to its
company and society; it grows familiar to the mind and conscience, that
they do not startle at it as a strange thing, but are bold with it as that
which they are wonted unto; yea, it will get such advantage by this means
as oftentimes to exert and put forth itself without having any notice taken
of it at all, as it seems to have been with Joseph in his swearing by the
life of Pharaoh. Unless some extraordinary course be taken, such a person
hath no ground in the world to expect that his latter end shall be
peace.

For, first, How will he be able to distinguish between the
long abode of an unmortified lust and the dominion of sin,
which cannot befall a regenerate person? Secondly, How can he promise
himself that it shall ever be otherwise with him, or that his lust will
cease tumultuating and seducing, when he sees it fixed and abiding, and
hath done so for many days, and hath gone through a variety of
conditions with him? It may be it hath tried mercies and
afflictions, and those possibly so remarkable that the soul could
not avoid the taking special notice of them; it may be it hath weathered
out many a storm, and passed under much variety of gifts in the
administration of the word; and will it prove an easy thing to dislodge an
inmate pleading a title by prescription? Old neglected wounds are often
mortal, always dangerous. Indwelling distempers grow rusty and stubborn by
continuance in ease and quiet. Lust is such an inmate as, if it can plead
time and some prescription, will not easily be ejected. As it never dies of
itself, so if it be not daily killed it will always gather strength.

2. Secret pleas of the heart for the countenancing
of itself, and keeping up its peace, notwithstanding the abiding of a lust,
without a vigorous gospel attempt for its mortification, is another
dangerous symptom of a deadly distemper in the heart. Now, there be several
ways whereby this may be done. I shall name some of them; as, —

(1.) When upon thoughts, perplexing thoughts about
sin, instead of applying himself to the destruction of it, a man searches
his heart 45to see what evidences he can find of a good
condition, notwithstanding that sin and lust, so that it may go well with
him.

For a man to gather up his experiences of God, to call them
to mind, to collect them, consider, try, improve them, is an excellent
thing, — a duty practised by all the saints, commended in the Old Testament
and the New. This was David’s work when he “communed with his own heart,”
and called to remembrance the former loving-kindness of the Lord.99Ps.
lxxvii. 6–9. This is the duty that Paul sets us to
practise, 2 Cor. xiii. 5. And as it is in itself
excellent, so it hath beauty added to it by a proper season, a time of
trial or temptation, or disquietness of the heart about sin, — is a picture
of silver to set off this golden apple, as Solomon speaks. But now to do it
for this end, to satisfy conscience, which cries and calls for another
purpose, is a desperate device of a heart in love with sin. When a man’s
conscience shall deal with him, when God shall rebuke him for the sinful
distemper of his heart, if he, instead of applying himself to get that sin
pardoned in the blood of Christ and mortified by his Spirit,
shall relieve himself by any such other evidences as he hath, or
thinks himself to have, and so disentangle himself from under the yoke that
God was putting on his neck, his condition is very dangerous, his wound
hardly curable. Thus the Jews, under the gallings of their own consciences
and the convincing preaching of our Saviour, supported themselves with
this, that they were “Abraham’s children,” and on that account accepted
with God; and so countenanced themselves in all abominable wickedness, to
their utter ruin.

This is, in some degree, a blessing of a man’s self, and
saying that upon one account or other he shall have peace, “although he
adds drunkenness to thirst.” Love of sin, undervaluation of peace and of
all tastes of love from God, are inwrapped in such a frame. Such a one
plainly shows, that if he can but keep up hope of escaping the “wrath to
come,” he can be well content to be unfruitful in the world, at any
distance from God that is not final separation. What is to be expected from
such a heart?

(2.) By applying grace and mercy to an unmortified
sin, or one not sincerely endeavoured to be mortified, is this
deceit carried on. This is a sign of a heart greatly entangled with the
love of sin. When a man hath secret thoughts in his heart, not unlike those
of Naaman about his worshipping in the house of Rimmon,10102 Kings v.
18. “In all other things I will walk with God, but in
this thing, God be merciful unto me,” his condition is sad. It is true,
indeed, a resolution to this purpose, to indulge a man’s self in any sin on
the account of mercy, seems to be, and doubtless in any course is,
altogether inconsistent with Christian sincerity, and is a badge of a
hypocrite, and is 46the “turning of the grace of God into
wantonness;”1111Jude
4. yet I doubt not but, through the craft of Satan
and their own remaining unbelief, the children of God may themselves
sometimes be ensnared with this deceit of sin, or else Paul would never
have so cautioned them against it as he doth, Rom. vi. 1,
2. Yea, indeed, there is nothing more natural than for fleshly
reasonings to grow high and strong upon this account. The flesh would fain
be indulged unto upon the account of grace, and every word that is spoken
of mercy, it stands ready to catch at and to pervert it, to its own corrupt
aims and purposes. To apply mercy, then, to a sin not vigorously mortified
is to fulfil the end of the flesh upon the gospel.

These and many other ways and wiles a deceitful heart will
sometimes make use of, to countenance itself in its abominations. Now, when
a man with his sin is in this condition, that there is a secret liking of
the sin prevalent in his heart, and though his will be not wholly set upon
it, yet he hath an imperfect velleity towards it, he would practise it were
it not for such and such considerations, and hereupon relieves himself
other ways than by the mortification and pardon of it in the blood of
Christ; that man’s “wounds stink and are corrupt,” and he will, without
speedy deliverance, be at the door of death.

3. Frequency of success in sin’s seduction, in
obtaining the prevailing consent of the will unto it, is another dangerous
symptom. This is that I mean: When the sin spoken of gets the consent of
the will with some delight, though it be not actually outwardly
perpetrated, yet it hath success. A man may not be able, upon outward
considerations, to go along with sin to that which James calls the
“finishing” of it,1212James i. 14,
15. as to the outward acts of sin, when yet the will
of sinning may be actually obtained; then hath it, I say, success. Now, if
any lust be able thus far to prevail in the soul of any man, as his
condition may possibly be very bad and himself be unregenerate, so it
cannot possibly be very good, but dangerous; and it is all one upon the
matter whether this be done by the choice of the will or by inadvertency,
for that inadvertency itself is in a manner chosen. When we are inadvertent
and negligent, where we are bound to watchfulness and carefulness, that
inadvertency doth not take off from the voluntariness of what we do
thereupon; for although men do not choose and resolve to be negligent and
inadvertent, yet if they choose the things that will make them so, they
choose inadvertency itself as a thing may be chosen in its cause.

And let not men think that the evil of their hearts is in
any measure extenuated because they seem, for the most part, to be
surprised into that consent which they seem to give unto it; for it is
negligence 47of their duty in watching over their hearts that
betrays them into that surprisal.

4. When a man fighteth against his sin only with
arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a
sign that sin hath taken great possession of the will, and that in the
heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness. Such a man as opposes nothing
to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men
or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no
punishment attending it; which, what it differs from living in the practice
of sin, I know not. Those who are Christ’s, and are acted in their
obedience upon gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of
God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God,
a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction
of sin, to all the workings, strivings, fightings of lust in their hearts.
So did Joseph. “How shall I do this great evil,” saith he, “and sin against
the Lord?” my good and
gracious God.1313Gen xxxix. 9 And Paul, “The
love of Christ constraineth us;”14142 Cor. v. 14. and, “Having
received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the
flesh and spirit,” 2 Cor. vii. 1.
But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he hath nothing but
law to oppose it withal, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons,
but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper
arms of the law, it is most evident that sin hath possessed itself of his
will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest.

Such a person hath cast off, as to the particular spoken
of, the conduct of renewing grace, and is kept from ruin only by
restraining grace; and so far is he fallen from grace, and returned
under the power of the law. And can it be thought that this is not a great
provocation to Christ, that men should cast off his easy, gentle yoke and
rule, and cast themselves under the iron yoke of the law, merely out of
indulgence unto their lusts?

Try thyself by this also: When thou art by sin driven to
make a stand, so that thou must either serve it and rush at the command of
it into folly, like the horse into the battle, or make head against it to
suppress it, what dost thou say to thy soul? what dost thou expostulate
with thyself? Is this all, — “Hell will be the end of this course;
vengeance will meet with me and find me out?” It is time for thee to look
about thee; evil lies at the door. Paul’s main argument to evince that sin
shall not have dominion over believers is, that they “are not under the
law, but under grace,” Rom. vi. 14. If
thy contendings against sin be all on legal accounts, from legal principles
and motives, what assurance canst thou attain unto that sin shall not have
dominion over thee, which will be thy ruin?

48Yea, know that this reserve will not long hold
out. If thy lust hath driven thee from stronger gospel forts, it will
speedily prevail against this also. Do not suppose that such considerations
will deliver thee, when thou hast voluntarily given up to thine enemy those
helps and means of preservation which have a thousand times their strength.
Rest assuredly in this, that unless thou recover thyself with speed from
this condition, the thing that thou fearest will come upon thee. What
gospel principles do not, legal motives cannot do.

5. When it is probable that there is, or may be, somewhat
of judiciary hardness, or at least of chastening punishment, in thy lust as
disquieting. This is another dangerous symptom. That God doth sometimes
leave even those of his own under the perplexing power at least of some
lust or sin, to correct them for former sins, negligence, and folly, I no
way doubt. Hence was that complaint of the church, “Why hast thou hardened
us from the fear of thy name?” Isa. lxiii.
17. That this is his way of dealing with unregenerate men no man
questions. But how shall a man know whether there be any thing of God’s
chastening hand in his being left to the disquietment of his distemper?
Ans. Examine thy heart and ways. What was the state and condition of
thy soul before thou fellest into the entanglements of that sin which now
thou so complainest of? Hadst thou been negligent in duties? Hadst thou
lived inordinately to thyself? Is there the guilt of any great sin lying
upon thee unrepented of? A new sin may be permitted, as well as a
new affliction sent, to bring an old sin to remembrance.

Hast thou received any eminent mercy, protection,
deliverance, which thou didst not improve in a due manner, nor wast
thankful for? or hast thou been exercised with any affliction without
labouring for the appointed end of it? or hast thou been wanting to the
opportunities of glorifying God in thy generation, which, in his good
providence, he had graciously afforded unto thee? or hast thou conformed
thyself unto the world and the men of it, through the abounding of
temptations in the days wherein thou livest? If thou findest this to have
been thy state, awake, call upon God; thou art fast asleep in a storm of
anger round about thee.

6. When thy lust hath already withstood particular
dealings from God against it. This condition is described, Isa. lvii. 17, “For the iniquity of his
covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he
went on frowardly in the way of his heart.” God had dealt with them about
their prevailing lust, and that several ways, — by affliction and
desertion; but they held out against all. This is a sad condition, which
nothing but mere sovereign grace (as God expresses it in the next
verse) can relieve a man in, and which no man ought to promise himself or
bear himself 49upon. God oftentimes, in his providential
dispensations, meets with a man, and speaks particularly to the evil of his
heart, as he did to Joseph’s brethren in their selling of him into Egypt.
This makes the man reflect on his sin, and judge himself in particular for
it. God makes it to be the voice of the danger, affliction, trouble,
sickness that he is in or under. Sometimes in reading of the word God makes
a man stay on something that cuts him to the heart, and shakes him as to
his present condition. More frequently in the hearing of the word preached,
his great ordinance for conviction, conversion, and edification, doth he
meet with men. God often hews men by the sword of his word in that
ordinance, strikes directly on their bosom-beloved lust, startles the
sinner, makes him engage unto the mortification and relinquishment of the
evil of his heart. Now, if his lust have taken such hold on him as to
enforce him to break these bands of the Lord, and to cast these cords from
him, — if it overcomes these convictions, and gets again into its old
posture, — if it can cure the wounds it so receives, — that soul is in a
sad condition.

Unspeakable are the evils which attend such a frame of
heart. Every particular warning to a man in such an estate is an
inestimable mercy; how then doth he despise God in them who holds out
against them! And what infinite patience is this in God, that he doth not
cast off such a one, and swear in his wrath that he shall never enter into
his rest!

These and many other evidences are there of a lust that is
dangerous, if not mortal. As our Saviour said of the evil spirit, “This
kind goes not out but by fasting and prayer,” so say I of lusts of this
kind. An ordinary course of mortification will not do it; extraordinary
ways must be fixed on.

This is the first particular direction: Consider whether
the lust or sin you are contending with hath any of these dangerous
symptoms attending of it.

Before I proceed I must give you one caution by the way,
lest any be deceived by what hath been spoken. Whereas I say the things and
evils above-mentioned may befall true believers, let not any that finds the
same things in himself thence or from thence conclude that he is a true
believer. These are the evils that believers may fall into and be ensnared
withal, not the things that constitute a believer. A man may as well
conclude that he is a believer because he is an adulterer, because David
that was so fell into adultery, as conclude it from the signs foregoing;
which are the evils of sin and Satan in the hearts of believers. The
seventh chapter of the Romans contains the
description of a regenerate man. He that shall consider what is spoken of
his dark side, of his unregenerate part, of the indwelling power and
violence 50of sin remaining in him, and, because he finds the
like in himself, conclude that he is a regenerate man, will be deceived in
his reckoning. It is all one as if you should argue: A wise man may be sick
and wounded, yea, do some things foolishly; therefore, every one who is
sick and wounded and does things foolishly is a wise man. Or as if a silly,
deformed creature, hearing one speak of a beautiful person, should say that
he had a mark or a scar that much disfigured him, should conclude that
because he hath himself scars, and moles, and warts, he also is beautiful.
If you will have evidences of your being believers, it must be from those
things that constitute men believers. He that hath these things in himself
may safely conclude, “If I am a believer, I am a most miserable one.” But
that any man is so, he must look for other evidences if he will have
peace.